Movies spotlight: 'Legend of Drunken Master'

The 1978 laugh riot “Legend of Drunken Master” (⋆⋆⋆½, PG, in subtitled Cantonese) is a true blast from the past, one of the first kung-fu comedies, and the one that cemented Jackie Chan’s status as an action superstar who is also a genius physical comedian. Here he’s playing a 19th-century Chinese folk hero and anticolonialist revolutionary whose solid martial-arts skills get even better when he’s totally hammered. With the aid of Hong Kong’s mind-bendingly inventive fight choreographers, Jackie mows down legions of British heels and Chinese turncoats in a woozy, off-kilter style that’s equal parts ballet, buffoonery and breathtaking brawling. He infuses every scene with a sense of mischievous, Bugs Bunny silliness. The movie is — truly — painfully funny. As the end-credits outtakes remind us, Jackie really did get whacked, set on fire and dragged over the (literal, red-hot) coals for our amusement. Are you not entertained? (7 and 9 p.m. Mon.-Tue.,$8, Trylon Microcinema, 3258 Minnehaha Av. S., Mpls., http://trylon.org/buy/959/.)

Minneapolis performing artist Patrick Scully brings the Mississippi River Boat Ballet to the festival. No art form requires more precision than ballet, so it's anyone's guess how Scully plans to keep nearly 50 boats; sailboats, kayaks, rowing shells, even a couple of bicycle-powered pontoons in balance, here are highlights from the rehearsal.